Your fate behind these reflections
by Isabella K. Jones
Summary: Arthur Kirkland,youngest son of the rich Kirkland household.However,his stepmother cut him out of the fortune and manipulates his life.But his life soon changed when a spade tattoo formed on his chest and he got sucked into a world by his biological mother's old mirror where he is 'Queen of Spades' .But he's not a bloody Queen!...Right?... USUK Cardverse AU. Ratings may go up.
1. Chapter 1

The dim light of the morning sun shined through the tiny gap between Arthur's curtains. It illuminates only a tiny part of the room, which just so happens to be Arthur's closed eyes before he opened them slowly and gazed up to the all too familiar white concrete. It seems just staring up at the same old ceiling made him sick. Perhaps if he was lucky, it'll make him really sick. However, such hopeless wishes like that do not come true at all. If he were to dread every day like this, ending his life doesn't sound like a bad idea. Of course Arthur wouldn't have the guts to consider something like that; it was just an average thought of teenage angst. All he had to do now was to think to himself whilst waiting for Owen to come wake him up like he usually does.

"Young master! It is time to wake up!" A tall figure wearing a black coattail burst through the large symmetrical doors. It's just as he suspected. Owen was never late for these routines.

"Yes, yes. I'm up…" Arthur sat up as he rubbed his eyes groggily. "I don't suppose I'm needed today?"

"It's as usual, young master. My lady is a busy woman, but she's not that busy that she needs all four of her sons to help her with her work. Please do try to bear with it for a while. You will be needed soon once you have developed into a fine young man like all your brothers." Owen said as he pulled the drapes apart and handed Arthur his clothes. 'Define _fine'_ he thought sarcastically. "There will be a guest visiting tonight. My lady asks of you to avoid him of all costs. A dangerous man, he is."

Arthur took his clothes and sighed. "Of course. Just like the rest of the guests who posed as a threat?"

All that Owen could do in these common situations is shake his head and say what he always says. "I'm sure she has her reasons…" before bowing and exiting the room.

The young Kirkland made his way to the connected bathroom and washed up before changing into the clothes Owen handed him. He stood in front of his mirror, an oddly designed one he might add. The frames were wooden, and it was carved at the side with interesting swirls. At the bottom of the frame were the small shapes hearts, diamonds and clubs while at the top was one shape of a spade bigger than the rest. It wasn't affixed to the wall, it was removable. The mirror had gotten old and Owen suggested replacing it. However, Arthur refused to part with it as it was the only thing his mother left behind. Before she died, she had told Arthur that it was his and to take good care of it. He never understood why his mother would give him a mirror but he cherished it anyway. He checked the mirror on his grooming and faked a smile. A face that could fool anyone but him. This became a usual routine apparently, every morning smiling to the mirror as if it would change something, that maybe, just opposite his reflection is hope…but of course such a silly thing would never happen. His fairy tale doesn't have an ending. He would never be saved…

"Young master! Is something wrong? You're taking an awfully long to time to change!" A deep voice interrupted Arthur's thoughts.

Arthur jolted to reality. "Ah! N-nothing! I'm ready!"

Despite saying that, he took his time adjusting his hair and checking for anything that he missed. Arthur takes his morning grooming very seriously. His eyes shifted from the mirror to a photo frame that sat at the corner of the table. Picking it up, he gazed into the green eyes that held comfort and the smile that promises joy.

"Mum…" he whispered as if he only wanted the photo to hear what he said. "I'm going to school. Don't worry about me, I can handle things just fine from the way they are now…" As he heard another impatient knock on the door, he kissed the photo and sat it back on the table. "Bye, love you mum…" he said softly once more before opening the door.

"Alright, alright. I'm out…" Arthur muttered.

Owen looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry young master. I hope I didn't disturb anything important?"

Arthur shook his head. "No, it's fine. Nothing you should concern yourself with Owen."

"I'm glad to hear that. Breakfast, my lord?"

"Yes, with my brothers today."

Owen bowed and set off to prepare his food. Arthur went down the stairs and sat in his usual place at the dining table. He grimaced as he watched his brothers eat their breakfast, creating a big mess at the table. Food splattered everywhere and some stray chunks lying on the table. Their mouths dirtied and covered with sauces. Despite being older brothers to Arthur, they eat like a bunch of 5 year olds. Arthur sighed audibly and cleared his throat to declare his presence.

"You know, I bet girls would definitely be attracted to those _charms_ that you all have…" he remarked. His brothers looked up at him and smirked.

"You know it!" Alistair laughed.

Arthur rolled his eyes but never failing to crack a smile. "Yes, _very _charming."

"I can't believe you've grown up from the baby Artie we all used to know to _this!_" Dylan stated, causing the two other brothers to erupt in fits of laughter.

"And what's wrong with _this_?" he replied, raising an eyebrow and sent them a death glare.

"Nothing! Uh…It's adorable?" Alistair so very cleverly came up with while Patrick and Dylan covered their mouths to prevent from laughing out loud.

Not soon till Owen arrived with his breakfast, scones and a cup of earl grey. Yes, how very typical. Arthur finished it quickly but leaving no crumbs on the table.

"I'm leaving for school now…" he said as he stood up. However, Arthur stopped in his tracks as he heard footsteps descending down the stairs.

"Good morning mother." His three brothers said in unison as Arthur's stepmother walked to the dining table.

"Y-yes, good morning mother…" Arthur followed.

His stepmother nodded at all of them and took her seat at the very end of the table.

"Yes, good morning. Arthur, headed out for school already?"

"Um, yes…"

"When you come home today, I want you in your room. Dinner will be served to you by Owen, is that clear?"

Arthur bit his lip but nodded eventually. He knew quite clearly why his stepmother wanted that of him. He wasn't supposed to show his face to the guests that visit their mansion, some kind of law his stepmother instilled ever since she took over the role as head of this family. Arthur's father died months after marrying her and that's when his life turned upside down. He had to oblige her…because, he's powerless against her when she holds all the power his father was supposed to have. That and he gained a few bruises over the years by learning he had to obey her the hard way. Someday, she might even throw him out into the streets. He's just grateful that she hasn't done that yet.

He took his things immediately and left the house just as quickly. 'Well…at least this day is about as normal as any other…' Arthur thought as his shoulders slouched a bit.

He never did suspect that_ normal _wouldn't quite be the word.

* * *

**Hello my dear readers! I'm very sorry that this chapter is a little short. I promise the next one would be longer! This is the first time I actually published a story, but of course not the first time attempting to write it. With that being said though, I do hope you'll go easy on me in the reviews? That is if you do review… Please review my story? Pretty please?...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey. So…when I checked this story this morning, I almost flipped my shit. Three reviews, two favs and twelve follows. You guys are so amazing I want to go over there and give you a bone crushing hug. God bless your beautiful souls ;-; Thank you so much for taking the time to review! And also, I forgot to put the disclaimers on the previous chapter. Silly me. I don't own hetalia or any of the characters used in this story except Arthur's parents and stepmother. The teacher was someone I read from my Literature book XD. Enjoy the chapter! (Hopefully).**

* * *

_Tick tick tick. _His eyes twitched, each time threatening to close as the annoying sound of his patience kept ticking._ Tick tick tick._ It resembles a bomb, close to exploding each second that passes. _Tick tick tick._ Each second that passed synchronizes with the clock hanging on the classroom wall. Okay, so maybe those weren't the sound of his patience ticking, but close enough. Just a minute more and he's out of here.

While Ms Vernon was busy explaining how to find 'X', all that went in Arthur's ears were just buzzing of noise as he occupied his last minute buried in his daydreams where he'd be finally free and live on his own. Prove to his stepmother that he won't be her little slave for long. He'd show her. Never mess with Arthur Kirk-

_RIIIIIIIIINGGGG!_

"That concludes today's lesson. Class dismissed."

The class stood at an irregular order as they made their way to wherever they want to go during lunch break. Arthur stood up himself as he tidied his table and books and exited the classroom. At a corner, he spotted his quiet Japanese friend, Kiku waiting at a corner for him. Kiku is his closest friend but they were never really that close. It takes a lot for him to open up to anyone. Arthur does hang out with an Italian, Feliciano and a German, Ludwig. That's mainly because of Kiku since he's friends with the two. Arthur talks to Feli sometimes and they were usually random topics like what goes on in their daily lives. Ludwig is more of the serious type. He gets along with Arthur because, well, there's not much matured and serious people like Ludwig and himself.

He walked up to Kiku and greeted each other when Kiku noticed his presence.

"Hey Kiku, where's Feli and Ludwig?" Kiku pointed to his far right with a blank expression.

Arthur turned and look, finding the two in front of Feliciano's locker, making out. 'Why can't they ever find a room?' Arthur thought. He turned back to look at Kiku and gave him a small smile like he sees that kind of thing every day. Which, truthfully isn't a rare sight either.

"Well, since their busy, shall we go first?"

Kiku nodded and headed to the cafeteria with Arthur, sitting on their usual spot. Kiku took out his bento while Arthur took out a book to read. He was blissfully immersed in the story until he was so rudely interrupted with a slap on his back.

"Bonjour Arthur!"

Arthur jerked up a bit when he felt the stinging slap hit his back.

"Francis! That hurt, you damn frog!" Arthur reached up a hand to rub on his injured back. That is if he reached enough.

Instead of apologizing, Francis chuckled.

"Lighten up _mon cher_! You're such a stick in _ze_ mud, no wonder you don't have many friends. Where's Feli and Ludwig?"

"Flirting. What about you? Where's Antonio and Gilbert?"

"Their class is late, they'll be here soon."

Arthur averted his gaze back to his book as Feliciano and Ludwig were finally done with their 'rounds' and sat beside Kiku. The Frenchman leant down and peered above Arthur's shoulders, trying to make out the words in his book.

"What is zis you're reading?"

Arthur jolted from his seat and slammed his book shut.

"I-it's none of your business!"

Francis raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Is that so? Or is it the fact that you do not want anyone to know the content of zat book?"

The look on Arthur's face gave it away. Wanting to tease him more, Francis swiftly snatched the book away from Arthur. He tried to pull it away, but the Frenchman was too quick for him.

"Francis! Give that back!"

Francis ignored the Brit and smirked.

"If you want it so badly, you have to beg for it!~"

He took several steps away from the Brit, waving the hard covered book at him while Arthur tried to get near him to snatch it back.

"Over my dead body, Frog!"

As he said that, he lunged at Francis but out of instinct, the Frenchman stepped aside and Arthur missed by a hair's length, clashing face first to the floor.

"O-ow…Bloody hell…" his hands got up to support his weight as he tried to get up, but something wasn't right…

Wait, this doesn't feel as hard as the floor. It's hard alright, but it's definitely not the floor. He looked up and found himself staring into bright azure eyes and an awkward smile.

"Hey, um…are you okay dude?" he asked as Arthur kept staring into his eyes with his emerald ones.

Arthur snapped back to reality and quickly got up, dusting his trousers and arms.

"Y-yes! I'm…sorry…"he managed out as a blush rose to his cheeks.

"Hey don't worry bout' it." the boy said and got up himself. "Don't hurt yourself all right?" he lightly ruffled Arthur's blonde locks.

Arthur blushed deeper, feeling slightly irritated at his actions. The taller male smiled and left the scene, leaving Arthur dazed. As he watched him walk away, Francis wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"Alfred huh?"

Arthur shooked his head violently to wake him from his thoughts. He shrugged Francis's arms off and turned to look at him.

"What do you mean by that?"

The Frenchman smirked. "He's quite the charmer isn't he?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow and continued to look at the Frenchman dubiously. "If you have something to say, spit it out. Stop beating around the bush and confuse me with your nonsense."

"That _Américain_ you just bumped into is a new student here. Despite that, he's quickly becoming real popular and a complete ladies man. I heard he's pretty good in football too. " Francis explained.

"In other words, he's just like you and your army, minus the football part of course." The Brit said and rolled his eyes.

Francis pouted. "Oh how you wound me! At least my army is better at sports than you could ever hope to be." Upon hearing that, Arthur glared at him and raised a hand in signal of a harsh smack. Francis quickly raised both hands in surrender to defend himself. "Hold your horses! Let me finish…"

Contemplating whether to do so or not, Arthur finally put his hand down and let the Frenchman finish.

"Not much background info is given about this Alfred guy. I heard he only started his studies at our age. God knows how he even managed to get in this school. Despite that, he's one of the smartest students here."

"Sounds a little fishy to me. How did you know all these?"

The Frenchman smirked and Arthur could swear he saw a spark in his eyes.

"I have my ways…"

The Brit felt himself shudder at the other's tone and muttered under his breathe,

"Creep…"

* * *

"Ugh…" he groaned as he hit his thighs gently.

Arthur sat at a bench in the changing room and took off his shirt. 'I should sit out of the next lesson…'he thought. How he hated running laps.

"Hey, Arthur right?"

The said Brit turned to where his named was called. Standing in front of him was the American he bumped into earlier. He wore a charming smile as he took a place beside Arthur.

"I'm Alfred." He said, holding out his hand to the smaller male.

Arthur took his hand, which was quite bigger than his in comparison. "Hello…You know my name?" he asked, shaking Alfred's hand. He didn't think the American could be so formal.

Said American laughed slightly. "Of course, we have a few classes together."

"O-oh! Right…"

For some weird reason, Alfred seemed to be eyeing his chest or was it just his imagination? Either Alfred seemed to notice or it really was just in his head, his eyes quickly averted elsewhere.

"Is something wrong?"

"Nothing. Um, are you free later?" Alfred replied, quickly changing the subject.

Arthur looked at him weirdly and Alfred was afraid that he might suspect something. Maybe he did or he just chose to ignore it.

"Not really… Uh, there's something going on at home…" he said, hoping Alfred wouldn't ask any further.

"What thing?" Well, so much for that.

"Just something important…"

Silence came from the two of them. To Arthur's relief, Alfred got up and stopped asking anymore questions.

"I was just hoping we could, well, hang out after school. Maybe next time okay?" Alfred smiled.

Arthur felt a blush dust his cheeks as he nodded and looked at the ground. He watched Alfred leave the changing room at the corner of his eye and let out a breath he didn't realize he's holding. Arthur stood up and his eyes glanced at the mirror on his side. It took him a while to realize that he was still half naked and blushed deeply. 'I've been talking to him like that this whole time?!' he thought as he covered his face with both his hands. When he looked down at his chest though, Arthur noticed a small black spot in the middle.

"What's this thing?" Arthur brought up a finger to rub on it but it doesn't seem like it's coming off.

He headed for the sink and opened the tap, collecting water in his hand and tried to clean it off. He was stunned for a moment when it doesn't even fade. He took a closer look at it in the mirror. It's small but it's noticeable if you know what you're looking for. 'I'm sure it's nothing, probably a marker ink…' he brushed the matter off with that thought. Was Alfred looking at that just now? That would've explained it. It'll be gone in a few days.

* * *

Nope. It's not gone. In fact, it had gotten bigger. How was that possible? If it's not scary enough, it had taken the shape of a _spade_. Arthur had returned home and decided to have a bath. It was going smoothly until he took off his shirt and freaked out when he noticed the black spot before had gotten noticeably bigger and the bloody thing is now a bloody spade. He had tried all means to get rid of it. Used all kind of body wash he could find at home but nothing seemed to work. It's almost like a _tattoo…_ No, that's not possible is it? He didn't even remember having a tattoo in the first place. Unless his brothers gave him one in his sleep as a prank. The pain would've woken him up. Plus a tattoo doesn't grow bigger and takes a different shape!

"Damn it! What the hell is this?!" he bent towards his mirror to take a closer look. It's such an irony that the mirror has a spade on it too.

He placed a hand on the weird spade's reflection and that was when things got weirder. The mirror glowed a bright white light and Arthur had to shield his eyes to not get blinded.

"What the fu-" Before he finished his sentence, he felt as if being pulled into the mirror and found himself falling through a brightly lit hole. The last thing he saw was his bathroom opposite him before he fell unconscious.


	3. Chapter 3

He blinked opened his eyes and slowly sat up. Arthur quickly places a hand at his forehead when he felt a headache and groaned.

"Ugh… What the bleeding…?" he paused for a moment when he felt silk surrounding him.

It took a while for him to realize that he wasn't at home. No, he was lying on a blue and purple bed in a blue and purple room. What's with this place? It's a little weird…

"Where the hell am I?" Arthur got a little surprised when he heard the door knob move.

A man stepped in wearing blue and purple clothing. His long black hair was tied into a ponytail and placed on one side of his shoulders.

"Ah! Your highness, you're finally awake aru." The man said.

Arthur looked around the room for anyone else just to make sure the man was referring to him when he said 'your highness'.

"Yes, I'm talking to you aru." The man said as he made his way to Arthur's too big of a bed, which was bigger than any bed he slept on honestly.

Arthur looked at him confused but the man just smiled at him. He bowed to him and raised his head slightly to look at Arthur.

"I will explain things later. For now, let's just leave it at that. I am Yao, the Jack of this Kingdom. You will meet the king later, change into these first." Yao said as he handed a blue and purple clothes to Arthur.

Arthur hesitantly took the clothes. "Wait, you can't just leave it at that! I still don't know how I got here!"

"Questions later. We don't want to keep the king waiting, he's quite impatient." Yao said and left the room, leaving Arthur to change.

Arthur unfolded the clothes and looked at them. It doesn't seem like he could get any answers if he doesn't cooperate. Arthur shed his clothes and changed into the clothes given to him. They're a lot comfortable than they look. He wore a big blue coat over everything else at last and just held a small hat in his hand.

"Is this really necessary…" he said as he placed the hat on his head.

Out of habit, he checked a nearby mirror on his grooming. Weird, there's something familiar about the mirror. It looked like…his mother's mirror?!

"This…This is just too weird!"

"I-"

"WAH! Huh? Oh, it's just you Yao. Don't scare me like that!"

"Oh, my sincerest apology your highness but I just came in to check if you were done. Are you ready to go?"

"Y-yes, of course."

With that, the two left the room and walked down a long hallway until Yao abruptly stopped in front of a door causing Arthur to bump into him.

"The king is in there, go ahead."

Arthur looked from Yao to the door in front and braced himself. He knocked on the door and slowly opened it.

* * *

Have you ever felt so much shock that you felt like time pauses for a moment along with your heart? Or maybe when that one time your mother told you out of the blue that they sold your pet and it did not just 'run away'. Perhaps one day you came home only to find a weird tattoo you don't remember having on your body, fell through your mirror, have somebody on crazy planet to call you 'your highness' and then find out later that the 'King' of this place is someone you met in school recently. Well, must be hard on you. And, that is also what Arthur is feeling right now. It just hit him without any warning.

"Hello Arthur," the 'King' greeted him and got up from his seat. He approached the paralyzed Arthur and took his hand, gently placing it on his lips. "My future Queen…"

"Y-you…" Arthur managed out, trying to snap out of his shock.

"Yes, me?" the King smiled, grabbing both Arthur's hands in his.

"I… Alfred, you're the king?..."

"Someone give him a prize. Figured that much out?" Alfred chuckled a little.

"Alright, explain all this! I have so much to ask. Where am I? And who exactly are you? What am I doing here?!"

"Hush!" Alfred placed a finger on Arthur's lips. He headed over to a bookshelf and pulled out a really thick book and placed it on his table. "Take a seat."

Arthur took it, opposite of Alfred and stared down at the book in front of him.

_Kingdom of cards_

"That book should have the answers to your questions. Take your time reading it. I'll explain the things you should know first. This world you're in is the Kingdom of cards. It's separated into four other smaller kingdoms, the hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades. Each kingdom has rulers over them to maintain peace and order. They are the kings and queens. Assisting them will be their Jacks. The kings and queens should have a tattoo like shapes of their kingdoms. And that," Alfred pointed to the middle of Arthur's chest. "is the queen's tattoo spade symbol. You are the next queen to this kingdom."

Arthur stared wide-eyed at Alfred, then gave an awkward laughter.

"No no, you must have got it wrong! I-I'm sure my brothers just gave me this tattoo or something…I don't know how they did it, but I'm…I'm not a queen! I don't even know this place! You must be horribly mistaken!" To Arthur's annoyance, Alfred just smirked and he pulled a drawer.

He took out a small clock and held it towards Arthur. "If you're so sure we're mistaken, then you won't be afraid to test it out? This is the queen's clock. When the chosen queen of spades holds it, the hands on this clock should start moving."

Arthur hesitated. Why was he so nervous about this whole thing? If he really wasn't the queen, he shouldn't worry about a thing right? He reached for the clock in Alfred's hand and held it in his own. He thought his heart stop as he felt the pocket watch in his hands.

A second passed and Arthur heaved a sigh of relief.

"See? I'm not the queen, it doesn't-" Just as he said that, the minute hand started to twitch. Soon, it began to spin at an unbelievable speed, the hour hand moved to the exact timing it was now. 5 o' clock…

"No way…" Arthur whispered in disbelief. When he looked up at Alfred, that git has the know-it-all smirk.

"I won't say I told you so. Is that proof enough for you?" As Arthur began to open his mouth, Alfred interrupted him. "If you were wondering how this all happened, that book," he pointed to the book in front Arthur, "should have the answers to your questions. You may read it now if you want to. After all, you must know the details before you become Queen."

Arthur looked back at Alfred for a moment then slowly reached to open the book. He could easily tell Alfred hadn't been reading it. The book was covered with dust and when he blew on it, the particles flew up, fogging his vision for a while before it cleared away. Arthur skimmed through the contents and stopped on the very first part where there was the heading _Kingdom of Cards. _The first paragraph was more or less what Alfred told him earlier. What caught his interest was the next paragraph onwards.

_Long ago, the first war between the kingdoms of cards. The war of the suits. Chaos broke out between the kingdoms on the north, south, east and west. People were killed, not even children were spared. Help was needed desperately and that is when the Jokers stepped in. They knew of 'another world' and for the safety of future royals, the people who were marked with the symbols were sent there on one condition._

_They were to live out their lives there as normal beings and continue their own lives in their kingdoms._

_When new royals were born, they are to follow in their parents' footsteps and live two lives. They are only to discover the kingdoms once their symbol appeared on their bodies. Till this day, the tradition is carried on by the heirs to the thrones._

Arthur just stared at the words that seemed to swirl in his eyes. Some of his questions were answered but new ones were formed. This happened so suddenly, it just felt like a dream. One he could question all he wanted but it just won't ever make sense. It hurt his head just thinking about it.

"Are you okay?" he was a little surprised when he heard a voice interrupt his thoughts. It was just Alfred, with his face etched with concern.

Arthur nodded slightly. There are so many things he wanted to ask Alfred. Some things a book can't simply answer. He felt if he didn't ask now, it's going to bother him the rest of the day.

"Alfred…"

"Yes?" the American responded. He looked at the silent Brit before Arthur decided to speak.

"What if… a royal refuses their duties? Are they able to avoid being one?"

Alfred stayed silent and slight surprised at Arthur. He didn't think anyone wouldn't want to be a royal. Sure, when he first discovered he was king, it was hard to get used to, but he can't deny he felt a little excited.

"You can't. No one has done that before but if they didn't want to be one…then it's just too bad for them, they have to deal with it. I know it's unbelievable to accept, but you have to. You can't avoid it." He said simply.

Arthur had his head down, his fringe covering his eyes. Alfred could see him biting his lower lip. He clenched his fists on his clothes' fabric, rumpling it a bit. He didn't know why. Being a royal was all anyone could ever dreamed of being. It felt like something he read from a book, something that he didn't find possible to just happen to him but yet he just couldn't accept it. Swiftly, he stood up abruptly, surprising Alfred, and quickly ran out the room.

All he could hear as he ran was his name being called out by Alfred. Still, he didn't stop. He felt like he couldn't until he was far away from this place right now. It's like he couldn't breathe. Arthur found himself outside eventually. He didn't know how he got here let alone how to go back. Where he is now, looks like a maze. There were tall bushes everywhere covered with thorns and blue roses. It was actually quite beautiful. Panting slightly, Arthur collapsed onto the patch of grass. He didn't know why he felt so…unease about this. He was actually a queen here. After years of living with his torturous stepmother, he could actually be treated _so much more than he's worth. _Even if he found himself waking to his usual dull bedroom, even if this is all a dream, he might as well cherish every second of it before he wakes up to his horrible life again. 'But it feels so _real'_ Arthur thought. What if this isn't a dream? He knew he'll find that out eventually when time passed, but brushing the matter aside, he stood up and dusted himself off of the grass on his clothes. Right now, the more important matter is if he could get out of this maze. It seemed easy enough. After all, he had read so much of these books, he'll be out in a second.

* * *

"Haven't I been here before?... The mark is right here. Agh! Damn it! Screw this maze!" Arthur yelled out in frustration.

The Brit had been going in circles. He always came back to the same place he marked before he made another turn. The feeling of being trapped coursed through him and tears welled up in his eyes. Arthur slumped down to the grass and rubbed away the tears that threaten to fall.

"Ugh… I'll never find my way out like this… Am I going to be stuck here until someone finds me?" The problem was that he didn't know when someone will come, or if they will ever come at all. He's pretty sure he was going to die of starvation and thirst and when someone actually found him, they're going to freak out and hold a funeral for their to-be queen. 'What a dumb way to die… Perhaps now my stepmother has one less irritant in her life. My stepbrothers are going to be lonely when they don't have anyone to make fun of now…" More tears swelled in his eyes as more pessimistic thoughts crossed his mind, although now, Arthur made no attempts to rub them away or cover up the soft sobs that came from his mouth. He felt like a small child, lost in a big place without his parents.

"Who goes there?" a soft voice was heard and Arthur lifted his head up slightly from his knees.

"What?..." a boy, who looked the same age as Arthur appeared from a corner. He had long blonde locks that reached his shoulders and had a strand of hair that stuck out of his head like Alfred's. In fact, he resembled Alfred in some ways but there were quite obvious differences.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" The boy asked, walking nearer to Arthur.

"I-I'm Arthur Kirkland. And I wished I knew how…" he said, quickly rubbing his eyes and standing up.

"Are you lost?" Arthur nodded his head and the boy gave a small smile. "C'mon, I'll get you out of here."

Arthur followed the boy without questions. It was a little naïve of him to trust a stranger-especially in some place he didn't know of-so easily, but he didn't have a choice. He wanted to get out badly, not to mention that he was starving as well.

"Pardon me, but who are you?" Arthur couldn't help asking. He thought if he knew more about this boy, he could at least trust him more.

"Oh, forgive me! I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Matthew, the ace of the spade kingdom. I happened to be patrolling the rose maze today but I heard a sobbing. Are you okay now?"

Arthur coughed and blushed slightly. "Uhm… yes, well, I had gotten lost in here. I'm really sorry for interrupting your duty… and, it will really mean a lot if you don't tell anyone that I cried." He heard Matthew chuckle lightly.

"It's okay, and I won't tell anyone."

Arthur smiled. So far, Matthew had been really nice to him. He wondered if he knew he was the queen. Which reminds him, "Have anyone told you, you have a slight similarity to the King? I'm sorry if that's offensive, but I recently met him and you reminded me of him."

"You met the King? Well, yeah, it would've made sense that I do look a bit like him. I'm his brother after all." Arthur almost choked and looked at him wide eyed.

"You're his brother?! I thought you should be a prince!"

"Well, yes, I am. But the oldest heir should take over the throne. As I am not the oldest, I asked him to assign me as the ace, being in charge of the army. I didn't want to just sit around doing nothing as a prince." Matthew replied simply. Arthur nodded but the other wasn't really looking at him.

Eventually, they came to the entrance of the maze. Just as Arthur was about to thank Matthew for saving his life back there, he heard a familiar loud and obnoxious voice.

"Arthur! There you are! The guards and I have been searching everywhere for you, where did you run off to?!" It was Alfred and he ran up to Matthew and Arthur.

"I found him lost in the rose maze while I was patrolling the place. You know him?" Matthew asked.

"Of course! I should've informed you earlier but as you could see, I was trying to find someone. Mattie bro, meet your new future queen! A.K.A your wonderful brother's future wife!" Alfred said, too loudly.

"W-wife?!"

"Q-queen?!" Arthur and Matthew yelled in unison respectively. Just as Arthur was about to protest, Matthew faced Arthur and got down on one knee with his head bent down.

"Your highness! I'm so sorry for my rude behaviour back there, I didn't know!"

"Ah, no it's okay! C'mon, get up!" Arthur bent down slightly and helped Matthew up.

"Alright! Now the intro is done, can we go back in now?" As usual ruining the moment, Alfred took a hold of Arthur's hand and pulled him in.

"H-hey! Git! Let go of me!"

* * *

"Now that the new queen of spades is found, we should start preparing for the ball tomorrow night. Yao should have sent out the invitations to the other royals and nobles by now."

"A ball? Nobody said anything about that!"

"Duh. The ball is for celebration in finding the new queen. Which means there will be tons of work for you tomorrow! That includes knowing all the royals to the kingdoms, table manners and how to dance and all."

Arthur stared at Alfred in disbelief. Him? At a ball? No way. He can't even handle the parties his stepbrothers throw at home despite being locked up in his room. Now he has to handle a ball.

"There is no way I'm attending it. Plus, I can't stay here so late for a ball, I… have a curfew." He simply said. Alfred looked at him dubiously.

"Dude, you have a curfew?"

"Please, not everyone is free like you. Don't you have one? And if our parents are in the same world as ours, where are yours?"

Alfred stayed silent for a while and Arthur could feel the atmosphere tensing up. The American's smile was wiped away.

"They're gone."

Arthur regretted asking that question and his eyes turned to the ground.

"Oh… I'm sorry…"

Alfred just smiled widely again and replied, "Don't worry about it, it's all in the past. Oh and by the way, when's your curfew?"

"It depends if I have any guests at home. If there is, my stepmother would tell me and the timing is usually depending on what time the guest would arrive. If there isn't, it will be seven. Usually."

Alfred nodded slowly and turned to look at the clock. He then turned to look at Arthur, a bit confused.

"But isn't it like, seven right now?"

Arthur's eyes widened before he burst out a loud reply.

"What?! I gotta get home! NOW! Alfred, show me how to get back!" Arthur grabbed Alfred's shoulders frantically.

"Ow! Okay okay! Let me go first!" Embarrassed, Arthur let go of Alfred's shoulders and the American walked in front of a mirror. The same mirror that looked like the one in Arthur's bathroom. "You go back the same way you got here." Alfred said, gesturing to the mirror.

Arthur walked up to mirror and placed a hand at his reflection.

"Well? Nothing's happening."

Alfred smirked and walked behind Arthur. As soon as he did that, Arthur felt him push his back harshly and the same glow erupted from the mirror. The Brit felt Déjà vu as he fell through the mirror and landed back in his bathroom, this time, fully conscious. The glow on the mirror faded away and Arthur slowly got up to his feet.

"Ouch…That stupid American…" he groaned.

As he looked around, he was indeed back in his familiar bathroom. Everything was normal again. He heard someone knock on his bathroom door and turned to open it.

"Young master, what happened in here? You were not responding when I knocked earlier, I thought something had happened! You had me worried! And what are you wearing? What an odd design for clothes." Owen said as soon as the door was opened.

Arthur looked down to find himself in the same clothes he wore at the kingdom. 'So it really was real…' he thought to himself.

"Nothing Owen. Sorry for worrying you, I just…fell asleep. And this is, uh, a costume. For a school play."

Owen looked at him suspiciously and Arthur was afraid that he seen through his lies. However, the butler just nodded.

"Of course. Your dinner is at your table. Although, I think it had turned cold. Would you like for me to heat it up for you?"

"No, it will be fine. You may take your leave."

His butler bowed slightly and exited his room. Arthur sighed in relief and sat in front of his dinner. Instead of eating though, he just stared at it as his mind wandered off to what happened today. It wasn't just a dream anymore, now he knew it had been real. It was ridiculous. All these happened in just one day. It started with a normal day and ended with a bang. Arthur could feel himself smile when he thought how _magical _it had been, how_ unbelievable and unreal _it felt. Yet, he was convinced that such fairytale actually existed, that such an impossible dream was turned reality. Honestly, Arthur was not one to be very naïve. _'But just this once,'_ he thought, _'just this once, I want to believe that even someone like me deserves a happy ending…'_

* * *

**Hello again!I am really sorry that I took so long to update but school recently just started after my long weekends so I won't have time to update more in the future,what's worse is that I have tests next week...But I'll try my best to!I haven't read through this because I was in a rush so please be lenient on any grammar I did make any though,don't hesitate to tell me and I'll try not to make the same mistakes in the future,really sorry and I'm sad to say that updates will be slower but I promise I won't take forever.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello guys! I am soooooooooooooooooo sorry this took sooooooo long! My tests ended so I managed to get this chapter done. Bad news is that my exams are coming in September so yeah…(BIG SIGH) Did I forget to mention there's going to be an OC in this? Whoops, my bad. For those who dislikes OCs, please bear with me for a while because she is an important role(sort of) for the development of the story (SPOILER:AND USUK) but don't worry, she's only temporary. Oh and the song used in this chapter is Fly me to the moon by Frank sinatra. Shut up,I know it's corny. SO it's late in the night and I'm rushing to get this done so I haven't exactly read through this.I'm sorry OAO. But enjoy the chapter?:D And tell me if it's too long cause I feel like it is. But I don't know, do you like it long?(That wasn't meant to be an innuendo,I swear.)**

* * *

The day after his visit to the kingdom of cards went on as normal. In fact, it was so normal that Arthur wouldn't have believed it for a second. His days started out according to everyday routine, Owen waking him up, washes up and kissed his mother's photo for the day, have breakfast, trying to avoid his stepmother as much as possible and then leaving for school. Even at school though, Alfred wasn't exactly acting any different, which leads Arthur to question his sanity. When they met each other this morning at school, Alfred just gave his usual smile and greeted Arthur. Arthur greeted him back, just half of his enthusiasm and more of a questioning tone but Alfred didn't seem to notice that or the puzzled face that Arthur gave him. His other interactions with the others went on normally too, at least as normal as it can get, but of course Arthur couldn't expect them to suddenly start treating him like a queen too. That would be actually nice for a change but he felt like he wouldn't want it that way. Sometimes Arthur would wonder if they'd treat him differently if they knew he was from a rich family. Hopefully not, he just liked them wanting to be around him because they found his company enjoyable, not because of the wealth that he has no access to.

During lunch though, Alfred pulled Arthur with him to the restroom while the Brit was having another one of his normal disputes with Francis. (Which he found that Alfred already long knew the frog) Of course being Francis, when he saw the American drag Arthur to the restroom with his loud protests, he would've suspected something indecent happening and gave a knowing wink to Arthur who turned red faced at cursed at the Frenchman silently.

"What on earth do you want?" Arthur finally said when Alfred released his wrists. With the strong grip the taller male had on him, he was sure it was to leave a mark.

Alfred checked all the stalls, and after being assured that no one was with them, he started to speak.

"I've been waiting for the right time to talk to you about yesterday. Just so you know, we aren't supposed to let anyone know about our_ real _identities so I couldn't exactly bring up that topic in front of so many students."

Arthur nodded and leaned on one of the sinks. "I figured that much out when you avoided that subject. So you got me now, what did you want to talk about?"

"I want to know if you're free later. School doesn't end as late today so I was hoping you are."

"Well, I am free…but I'm stuck at home today." Arthur expected Alfred to look dejected but ended up surprised when he smiled brightly and clapped his hands together.

"Great! You must come to spades, like, super early today. Well, not that early but just once you reach home. Okay? Can you do that?" Alfred looked at Arthur hopefully, his blue eyes just practically shining.

Arthur was taken aback by Alfred's sudden outburst but eventually nodded. "I guess so."

"Great!" Alfred exclaimed another time. "You have a lot of things to do, which includes familiarizing yourself with the other royals before the ball starts tonight. You can take your time understanding the concept of the tattoos you've been wanting to know and whatnot, that's important but not yet your first priority."

Arthur gave a groan. He almost forgotten about the ball, and honestly he wouldn't want to be reminded of it.

"Of course… I'll be there, don't worry." Arthur said. At least he won't have to deal with his stepmother in the meantime.

* * *

When he reached home, Owen was there to greet him as usual.

"Welcome home young master. Are you hungry? Do you need me to prepare a small snack for you until dinner comes?"

"Thanks for the offer Owen, but I don't think my mother would appreciate that."

"You don't have to worry about that. My lady has brought the three masters away with her for a visit to an acquaintance. They won't be coming back for a while until midnight."

'Thank god…' Arthur thought. It seemed too much of a coincidence that his stepmother would be away on the day that he needed her to, but he's certainly not going to complain or question their sudden decision to leave him at peace any further.

"I think I'll be fine by myself. You don't have to serve me dinner, I can take care of that."

Owen gave Arthur a worried look and said quickly in his concerned tone, "You're not planning to use the kitchen are you?"

Arthur would feel insulted right now if he wasn't relieved by the fact that his stepmother was away. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "No I'm not. You just don't have to serve me dinner okay? I'm not feeling particularly hungry today."

He could see the relieved expression that formed on Owen's face and the butler nodded. With no further discussion exchanged, Arthur made his way to his bedroom and immediately stood in front of his mirror. (Of course after making sure he locked his bathroom door) He placed a hand at the mirror's surface and soon, the very same bright light glowed from his mirror and pulled him in.

He could really get used to how he traveled from between dimensions. At least now he could stay conscious when he landed hard on the ground. Good thing the mirrors weren't placed at high locations. Just as he recovered from his fall, he felt someone helping him up.

"Are you alright your highness?" the familiar Chinese accent hit Arthur and he realized that it was just Yao, whom he suspect must have been waiting for him all along.

"I'm fine thank you. Just need to get used to the landings."

"I'm sorry for that. Do you need some cushions placed there next time?"

"Yes, please do. That'll really mean a lot."

Yao helped Arthur to his bed and he took a familiar thick book and placed it in front of Arthur. "I know you just got here, but it really is important. I hope you will understand this your highness, there are a lot of things you must know before the ball. It is only fundamental for you to know the other royals."

Arthur gave a sigh and nodded. Alfred had done enough to convince Arthur how _important _it is and the fact that Yao can't stop emphasizing the same things must mean it must be really a big of a deal. Assured that Arthur is reliable to be left on his own, Yao took his leave, promising to return with a snack soon. Hopefully the food served here would be great because how he had starved ever since he reached home. As Arthur flipped the pages, he stopped at the page where the other kingdoms were introduced. They were simple enough to remember; at the north is spades, his kingdom, the east, hearts, south, clubs and finally west, diamonds. In the Kingdom of hearts, red and pink was used widely, the Kingdom of clubs, light and dark green and the Kingdom of diamonds, yellow and orange. This place really have a thing for colours. It didn't take long for Arthur to easily remember all the details about the other kingdoms. Before he knew it, he had all he needed to know jotted down in his mind and spent a few minutes just staring at the book. He'd bet Yao didn't expect him to finish his 'studies' that early, considering the fact that the Jack left him to his own devices for a long time. 'I might as well get started on other things.' He thought as he flipped the pages once again. As he browsed the contents, he remembered the questions that has yet to be answered. Arthur flipped to the page that has the heading _Royal symbols _and started to read whatever that was written on the old pages. Each section has a kingdom labeled on top, which Arthur started on his kingdom, Spades.

_Spades_

_The spade symbol comes in three different colours; blue, black and purple._

_The blue spade is the King's symbol while the Queen's black. The King and Queen would need to produce a heir eventually and that heir becomes a pureblood royal. Purebloods are royals that have pure royal blood and their symbols are immediately shown on their bodies. Although that is the case, they are still to only know about their royal identities after a certain period of time._

_The purple spade is marked on some people who produce the partners for the purebloods. They are not considered royal or nobles but a common citizen. Out of all these marked people, only one is able to produce a child with a different coloured symbol as theirs, either a blue or black while the rest produces a child with a purple symbol or no symbol at all. They are called halfbloods. Unlike purebloods, the symbols on halfbloods are not shown after birth._

As Arthur kept reading, his eyes grew tired and the words seemed to swim in front of him. At least now he had some of his questions answered. Since his symbol did not appear before, he must've been a halfblood, which common sense told him that Alfred was a pureblood. As his thoughts continued to swirl in his mind, the dots finally connecting themselves, there was a knock at the door.

Before Arthur could answer, it opened to reveal Alfred who was holding onto a tray. He smiled and approached him, gently placing the tray on the desk beside the bed.

"How's your study coming along?" he asked.

"It's tiring, but I'm handling it just fine." Arthur stated as he rubbed his eyes to look at Alfred. "Just so you know, I've finished studying about the royals, what am I supposed to do next?"

Arthur could sense that Alfred was surprised, mostly at his fast pace of learning. However, he made no comments about it and just replied, "Now you eat. Yao got some servants to make these for you, but I offered to bring it up myself. I was gonna check on you anyway." He lifted the cover of the tray revealing pancakes that caused Arthur to drool. The Brit was slightly surprised at the food served to him, he expected blueberries or something of that colour. Alfred must have noticed it because he smiled and said, "You know, it'll be really funny if we served blue fish or purple turkeys here."

Arthur laughed a bit, replying him, "I'm sorry I thought that way. It's just that don't you get tired looking at the same colours every day? I expected some kind of weird food being served to me."

Alfred just shrugged at Arthur's remark, obviously unaffected by the fact that Arthur had just indirectly insulted their culinary tastes. "We get used to it. Besides, even if I got tired of the same colours every day, I could go outside the walls of spades you know? Outside is full of beautiful nature, you just have to see it! There are tall trees everywhere and flowers growing on the patches of green grass, and the waterfall! There's a waterfall around and it's really beautiful. There's also all the faunas, the creatures of the forest. Their simply intriguing."

Arthur smiled as he listened to Alfred babble on and on about the nature outside the walls. The American realized he was going off topic and cleared his throat.

"I-I'm sorry about that. Just that, I really love going outside and being King doesn't really give you a lot of opportunities."

"It's alright. I'd liked to go outside sometime too. You made it sound very appealing, at least now I have something to look forward to."

Alfred grinned widely and clasped his hands together. "I can you bring you there someday! If you would let me of course."

Arthur nodded and picked up his fork. "Why not? I'd like to see something that's not blue or purple all the time."

The two laughed and soon found themselves falling into small conversations.

"Some of our food here is inspired by the ones we see at the other world. The pancakes is one of them and Mattie makes these really good! Too bad he's too busy to make one for you right now, I could ask him next time." Alfred said.

Arthur swallowed his food before answering Alfred. "That sounds nice. I look forward to trying some one day."

"Great! Oh by the way, did you know what else you gotta do today?"

Arthur shook his head slightly, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear it.

"You'll be practicing etiquette and ball room dancing. Since, you have to be prepared to dance later."

Arthur almost sputtered out his food. "D-Dance?! I can't dance! There's no way in hell would I do it."

"Well, this isn't hell, and you don't have much choice. Other Kings may want to dance with you and if you refuse them, it shows disrespect. As much as you'll hate it, there _are_ prices to pay for being a royal." Alfred said.

"Well, I never _asked _to be one! And If I remember clearly, you said I can't refuse my duties. What other choice do I have? If I do have the liberty to choose, I rather not be a royal!" Arthur snapped back but Alfred remained unfaltered, in fact being expressionless. After a moment of silence, he replied back,

"Exactly." he got closer to Arthur and bent down so his head was at the Brit's level. Arthur's own head moved back on instinct and the deadpan expression on the American's face scared him a little.

"Exactly that Arthur. You _don't _have a choice. You _can't _choose if you want to be queen or not. Whether you like it or not, this is your fate, it's what you must do. I can't promise that you'll enjoy the entire journey or make you accept it, that's something you have to do yourself. But you're going to be my Queen eventually and I just hope, under certain circumstances maybe, you can _at least _try to be a little more understanding and stop being so difficult?" Alfred stared down at Arthur as he said that, creeping the smaller male a little.

Arthur swallowed his saliva slowly, afraid to make even the slightest sound. "O-okay…"

Alfred pulled back and Arthur relaxed himself in his seat. The American just gave him a wide smile as if nothing had happened and sat on the bed. "Sorry bout' that, I was just messing with ya. But still, I just don't like seeing you having the grouchies all the time, and it's not so bad being a royal."

Arthur gave a small cough. 'Messing my arse. You looked dead serious just now.' He thought. "I don't have the 'grouchies' as you call it, and don't ever do that again…"

Alfred pouted slightly and ruffled Arthur's hair, causing the Brit to smack his hand away. "I said I'm sorry… And I didn't mean to scare ya like that."

"I-I was not scared! You just caught me off guard that's all! Stupid wanker." Arthur sputtered defensively.

"I so did. You should've seen yourself!" Alfred laughed and Arthur threw a pillow at him.

This was going to be a long day for him.

* * *

"I keep telling you, keep your chin up, stand straight and shoulders back!" Yao chided him once again as the books on Arthur's head fell to the floor.

He gave a silent groan as he bent down to pick it up until Yao hit him with a cane he was holding. Not so harshly that it'll hurt the Brit but enough to cause pain. Arthur jumped up in surprise and turn to look at the Jack.

"How many times must I say this? When you want to pick something you drop, don't squat like that! Just bend at the knees enough to reach it."

Arthur bit his lips together to refrain from snapping at Yao and just thought that it's for his own good. He did as Yao instructed and placed the books on his head once again. At first Yao was impressed with him when they were practicing table manners. He didn't even have to teach Arthur anything like which utensil to use or how to eat without dropping any crumbs on the table. Arthur had enough practice at home unlike his three brothers who never bothered to care. However, when they moved on to posture, Arthur had wished he listened to Owen to always look proper and not slouch all the time.

He managed to balance the books and waited for Yao to nag at him again about how his chin was not faced up or his spine wasn't straight enough or his shoulders were too stiff. It never came. In fact, when Arthur's eyes moved to glance at Yao, the Jack only smiled and nodded which meant he's doing it right. As he moved his right foot out to walk, the books wobbled a bit but he regained his composure as fast as he could and then moved his left. Soon, Arthur found himself walking smoothly with the books still perched on his head. He smiled widely and Yao gave him a small clap.

"Well done your highness. That took a while, but not as long as the King did."

Arthur took the books off his head and spun around to look at Yao. "Thank you, it was still quite difficult to do though."

"With more practice you will get used to it. But right now, this will be sufficient. Next we move on to ballroom dancing."

Arthur's smile faded. The one lesson he's been dreading. He was about to say something when the door opened without any warning.

"Hey Yao, how's Arthur doing?" Alfred stepped in and approached the two.

"Your Majesty, he's been doing fine. A lot better than how you started out actually." Yao smiled amusedly.

Alfred pouted and replied the Jack, "I was already doing my best. You were being too harsh."

Yao rolled his eyes and turned to face Arthur. "Alfred will be taking over now. I hope you two would get along just fine."

"Wait. Isn't it ballroom dancing? Weren't you going to teach me?" Arthur said, hoping that they decided to cancel or at least push back his lesson. His bubble popped when Yao said, "No, Alfred would be teaching you. I'm not at the perfect height to do it and this would be a good time for the both of you to bond. Don't worry, surprisingly enough, Alfred excels in dancing."

With that, Yao left the room, closing the door behind him. Alfred coughed and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "I guess Yao didn't tell you earlier huh."

"You think? It's bad enough I have to dance and now it's with you." Arthur said, crossing his arms. Dancing wasn't exactly his forte, just the complete opposite of that.

Alfred just walked up to Arthur and grabbed his hands. "It won't be too bad. It'll be over before you know it."

He adjusted their positions, placing his right hand just below Arthur's shoulder blade and placing Arthur's left arm gently on his upper arm. Alfred grabbed Arthur's right hand with his left one and their joined hand positioned at the level of Arthur's eyes.

"Just remember this position and follow my lead." He said and started leading Arthur slowly across the floor.

Arthur's head bent down slightly to look at their feet in case he stepped on Alfred's toes. However, as he did that, Alfred stopped in their movements.

"Look at me."

Arthur looked up into his azure eyes that assured him. "Don't look down. Be confident in your movements. Stand upright and your shoulders relaxed."

Alfred continued to lead Arthur as he said that, the two moving slowly together with Alfred's constant guidance. "Just remember, never stand toe to toe. You'll step on your partner's feet. And your right foot should be inbetween your partner's feet."

Soon, he found himself dancing gracefully with Alfred and even perhaps enjoyed himself more than he thought he would. It felt different. It was as if he knew how to dance all along. Dancing with Alfred was like floating in mid-air, the weight of gravity was no longer present in their movements. It was simply _breathtaking._

The door creaked slightly open and Yao peeked in, checking on the two royals. He smiled when he saw they were dancing perfectly in synced with each other and slowly closed the door again.

'Those two will certainly make great rulers.' he thought as he smiled to himself.

* * *

"You did well today Arthur. You learn fast."

"Well, it's thanks to you I did. You make a great dance teacher."

Alfred smiled at Arthur and the other returned one as well. They were resting in the garden, which Arthur may add, could be the most beautiful place in the palace. Not that the palace itself wasn't beautiful, it was but the garden had at least a variety of colours, although blue and purple were still an overpowering colour here.

"The garden is beautiful." Arthur commented. "Who grew all these?"

Alfred smiled and replied him proudly, "My mother. She really loved nature, and I guess I got that from her. So she just build a garden in the palace and whenever I get bored, I'd come out here to play. She'd also read me stories out here so this place really holds a lot of memories for me."

He smiled sadly and Arthur had wished he hadn't ask. However, the American returned to his normal self, as if the matter at hand didn't happen, and suddenly clapped his hands together. "Oh yeah! I forgot Arthur, but there's someone you gotta meet." Before Arthur could say anything, Alfred pulled him up. Holding Arthur's hand, he ran to the kitchen. On the way, the servants bowed their heads in respect but Alfred just smiled at them and nodded his head. He stopped abruptly and Arthur almost fell but he grabbed onto Alfred before he could.

"Hey, Nore! I want you to meet someone!"

A girl turned around and faced Alfred and Arthur. She smiled widely and greeted him. "Alfred! Hi! How are you? I missed you so much! And whose this beside you?" she asked gesturing to Arthur.

Arthur noted her features, long wavy strawberry blonde hair and light brown eyes and seemed the same age as them. In short, she spelled beautiful all over.

"This is Arthur, Arthur meet Nore. She's a servant working here for years. Nore was taken in by the palace when she was 5 and she had been my friend since I was like, 7 or something. I hope you two can get along!"

Nore smiled and took Arthur's hand, giving it a squeeze. "Hello Arthur! It's nice to meet you! I'm Nore Robbins."

"Same here. I'm Arthur Kirkland." He said, smiling back at her.

She shared the same friendly attitude that Alfred had, although it shouldn't be too surprising since Alfred grew up with her. Nore released Arthur's hand turned to Alfred, giving him a tight hug. "You haven't been visiting me you know?"

Arthur was slightly surprised at the close contact she gave Alfred, but the taller male didn't seem to mind.

"Yea, sorry bout' that. I've been busy preparing for tonight's ball and stuff. Hey, how's the food?" Alfred asked as Nore released him. Arthur could swear she looked at him for a second before turning to Alfred.

"It's just so like you to ask about the food. Don't worry, with me around, nothing could go wrong."

"Great! I'm pretty sure the guests would love them!"

Right after saying that, Alfred grabbed Arthur's hand and lifted it up.

"I forgot to tell ya. Arthur's the new Queen! Don't tell anyone though, it's a surprise." Alfred said, winking at Nore while he placed a finger at his lips.

Nore's eyes widened and just for a second Arthur noticed her fists clenched tightly which he brushed it off as nervousness. Arthur was going to ease her when she suddenly bowed to him.

"I am so sorry for my rudeness earlier on your highness! Alfred did not inform me about this!"

"Eh?! No, it's alright! There are others who do not know about this as well. Please, as Alfred's friend, you don't have to show me any formalities." He said as he helped the apologetic girl up.

Nore smiled and nodded. "I'm sure our Kingdom would love to have such a kind Queen as you Arthur."

Before he could accept the compliment, Alfred coughed dramatically in the background.

"_Right. _He's _such _a kind Queen." Alfred joked.

Arthur shot him an unamused expression while Nore giggled a little.

Nore offered to tour Arthur around the palace and outside in the spade Kingdom whenever Alfred was too busy to do it himself, to which, Arthur accepted her kind offer. For now, Alfred had suggested that the three of them walk around the palace until it was time for the King and Queen to change into proper attire for the ball. To be completely honest, Alfred, or at least anyone, ever suspected Arthur would finish his lessons so quickly. It wasn't very surprising for Arthur, if he could top his class oftenly, he was sure he could handle the lessons at spades. They hadn't plan anything for him with the extra hour but Arthur was quite relieved he didn't have to learn anything else with etiquette. He much rather read more books, after all, that's what he does best.

The more he hung around Alfred, the lesser he thought the American of irritating or annoying. Except for the occasional teasing or jokes made about him. In which, Nore would react with the same giggles. Arthur noted how the servants that passed her would smile and wave hi, while bowing to the two royals beside her. (Of course, they wouldn't know that Arthur was Queen. Yet.) He would've thought they would eye her with jealousy with the special attention she was receiving from the King but none of them were. Turns out, with Alfred's constant babbling about everything and everyone, Arthur had indirectly guessed that Nore must've been a very nice and lovable girl. Alfred would say that 'she couldn't even beared to hurt a fly' or 'Makes sure to keep herself busy with the other chores that other servants was assigned to do. Like, seriously Nore, what do we pay them for if they don't do anything?' and Nore replies to Alfred would be a blush and a smile and say 'I just wanted to help.' Or something like that.

Arthur thought his legs were about to break going around the palace and everytime they went to a new room, Arthur would ask himself how big was the place. He almost sighed in relief when Yao rushed up to them and said it was time to prepare for the ball. Nore went back to the kitchen to check on all the food while the two royals changed in separate rooms, of course not wanting to cause any awkwardness when they bask in each other's naked glory. Once they were finished changing, Yao escorted them, of course with the two standing side by side.

"Hey, Arthur…" Alfred whispered.

Arthur looked at him questioningly before whispering back to him, as he felt that was what Alfred wanted him to do since he was the one who whispered.

"Yes?"

"You nervous?"

Arthur paused for a moment before considering his answer. He didn't really feel any nervousness just now, until Alfred asked him that and made him self-conscious. Now as he thought about this whole ordeal, he got more nervous than he had been. Thanks a lot Alfred. He was going to meet other royals. While he handled Alfred just fine, he had no clue what the other royals might be like. How they look like, how they speak or how they behave, he have no idea. Knowing he was in such situation, Arthur can't help but feel nervous. That could be an understatement as well, because right now, he could have a heart attack.

"Yes, thanks to you now."

Alfred looked at him dubiously. "How is that my fault?"

"You reminded me of it idiot."

"Well, sorry then. And it's normal to be nervous, believe me. I was too. But the other royals are really nice. And I think you already know them."

"What do you mean by that?" Before Arthur could get his answer, Yao opened the doors and gestured them in.

Arthur stared at his bright surroundings. Red, yellow, green and blue was all over the room. He took a thorough look at the place and to say the decorators did a good job was an insult. A grand chandelier hung in the middle of the room and the drapes were a variety of the four colours. The floor tiles were polished so until one could see their own faces. The table cloths were of the four colours as well with each respective symbol representing their own colour. The guests and locals were all dressed up for the occasion in their most patriotic outfit and jewelries adorned all the females. Alfred pulled Arthur out of his trance, literally pulling him, towards a group of people who dressed in the different colours as well. When Alfred pulled to a stop, Arthur looked up, only to see many familiar faces, staring and smiling at him. _Very _familiar.

He felt like he could faint at that point in time. Or worse. When the familiar French accent hit him, his jaw dropped, wanting to let out a scream but thank god nothing came out.

"Bonjour Arthur! How's your day lately hm?"the man in yellow spoke.

Seeing Arthur could not bring any words to say, Alfred intervened. "He's been fine. Just tired from lessons that's all. Right Arthur?" he nudged Arthur's elbow.

"Ah, yea of course… I mean, wait," Arthur paused for a moment, still trying to process the whole situation. "What are you guys doing here?! This must be some kind of joke isn't it?! If it is, I'm not laughing. I- "

"Arthur! This is not a joke, this is a very serious situation… Well, not really, but still!" Alfred interrupted him, placing his hand to cover Arthur's mouth. When he released it, Arthur spoke again, "So you're telling me, that all of you are royals?!"

Each of them, everyone of Arthur's friends and perhaps a few slightly familiar faces that he might've seen walking down the hallway perhaps, smiled at him. Arthur can't help but feel they were mocking him instead.

He listed down everyone in his mind. 'Kiku, Ludwig and Feli are all in red… Francis, a little girl, and a another similar guy are in yellow and Ivan? Was that his name? The quiet and scary guy in one of my classes, he's in green, with a girl and another guy.'

"Well, I think Arthur should really get familiar with all of you don't you think?" Alfred said and he pushed Arthur forward to Ludwig's group.

"I'll leave him in your care for the mean time. Gotta go entertain the other guests." Alfred said and left the awkward Arthur with his friends.

"Guten Tag, Arthur. I never expected you to be the queen of Spades. What a coincidence." Ludwig said as he grabbed Arthur's hand and gave it a firm shake.

"Yes, it seems too much of a coincidence. Everyone I know is…here."

"Hai. Though I'm very happy for you that you're queen." Kiku said giving him a smile.

"Ve! Arthur's the second male Queen in our generation! Same like Kiku! He's very glad he's not the only male Queen."

Arthur looked at Kiku, who blushed slightly and nodded at him. The three introduced their roles to Arthur and had a small conversation together. Although it was still creepy, Arthur found relieve in the fact that he already knew all these people. It made things more easier. Ludwig was the King of hearts, Kiku, the Queen while Feliciano is the Jack. He found it weird since he thought that only the King and Queen were to live in the other world, but Ludwig explained that he and Feli got really close and Feli wouldn't stay anywhere without him. As a result from the Italian's constant beggings and whinings, he was finally allowed to visit the other world with Ludwig, although he couldn't stay there with him, but that's the best he could hope for and it's good enough. When he moved on to the rulers of clubs, he realized he didn't actually know any of them. The King's and Queen's faces were quite familiar enough, although he did not really converse with them before. Ivan was the King and Elizaveta (Which he found out that was the girl's name) was the queen and their Jack, Roderich. Lastly, he went on to the diamonds. As he suspected enough, Francis was the King and the other two faces he had not seen before, Lili, the little girl was Queen and Vash, the stern looking guy was their Jack. Already predicted that this would happen, Francis teased Arthur for having got such a feminine role which resulted in Arthur kicking his shin.

"Oh Arthur, I see the lessons have failed to turn you to the less violent and more gentlemanly person you claim you are. What a shame." Francis commented, earning a scowl from Arthur.

"Stupid Frog. You aren't exactly fit to be King either."

Francis just chuckled instead of feeling insulted. The both of them looked at the people dancing which lead Francis to ask Arthur, "Can you dance?"

"What?"

"Can you dance?" Francis repeated.

"Whether I can dance shouldn't be any relevance to anything should it?"

"Oui, it is. I'm going to assume you can't then." Arthur shot him a glare.

"I can certainly dance, and I'm pretty darn good at it too!"

"Then prove it." Francis smirked and looked at Arthur challengingly. "May I have the honour of this dance?"

In the haste of wanting to prove the frog wrong, he accepted without batting an eye. Arthur tried to recall what Alfred taught him. 'Right foot between the partner's feet, shoulders relaxed and stand upright.' He thought, repeating the words over and over in his head. Soon, he was dancing as gracefully as he was when he danced with Alfred. Their feet moved in sync and even though it didn't feel anything like when he danced with Alfred, he still did pretty well with Francis. They moved together with the slow song and when it ended, Arthur smiled smugly at the Frenchman.

"Was that good enough for you?"

"Oui, you're pretty good than I initially thought."

When he said that, he felt a tap on his shoulders and he turned his head to face Alfred.

"Excuse me Francis, but I hope you won't mind if I took over?" Alfred said as he smiled.

Francis stepped aside for the American and turned back to face Arthur. "Have fun with your love bird mon cher!" he said and left before Arthur could punch him.

"Stupid wanker…" he muttered under his breathe.

Alfred smiled and took Arthur's hands in his. "So, how was it like dancing with Francis?"

"It was okay, I guess."

"Just okay?"

"Maybe he could dance better than I thought."

"He must've thought the same thing too about you."

"Idiot…"

Alfred laughed slightly and released one of his hands, still holding the other. He bent down slightly and lifted his head enough to see Arthur.

"May I have this dance, my Queen?"

Arthur blushed slightly but nodded. The two got into their positions and as a slow song played, they started dancing like how they did during practice. Only this time, it was a real dance with music playing.

"This song. It's so familiar." Arthur said softly.

"Yeah, it's inspired by the other world too. It's one of my favourites."

Arthur can't help but chuckle a bit. "I thought you're the type to like pop music."

"Hey, I can appreciate different things."

The both of them immersed themselves in the song. Nothing else was on their mind at that moment.

_Fill my heart with a song and_

_Let me sing forever more_

_You are all I long for_

_All I worship and adore_

Every step they took, it felt like time had stopped for a moment. Alfred was no longer guiding Arthur. They were moving at the same time. Arthur felt everything else disappear for a moment and it was just them. He couldn't explain why it was different with Alfred. He's a person like everyone else but Arthur already felt close to him despite only knowing each other for a few days.

_In other words, please be true_

_In other words_

_In other words, I, love, you_

When the song ended, the two royals spent some time just looking into each other's eyes in silence. Then, Alfred opened up to speak.

"You did pretty good. Looks like I taught you well." He smirked at the Brit.

Arthur was about to say something back when he heard a loud sound of a bell ring. He sure has been interrupted a lot lately.

"What was that?" he asked Alfred.

"That? It's just the spades clock. It rings one minute earlier before it strucks 12 on every occasion we hold so the guests wouldn't lose track of time."

"Oh…" was all Arthur could say.

Until a realization struck him.

_They won't be coming back for a while until midnight._

Arthur let out a loud gasp, which Alfred looked at him questioningly.

"What's wrong?" Arthur didn't bother to answer but all he said was,

"I got to go…" before running off, surprising Alfred and everyone else he passed.

People gave him looks of surprise or shock, but he didn't care. He didn't stop until he was in the bedroom, in front of the mirror. Right now, even as Alfred ran after him, even when he heard his name being called out getting louder, they were pushed aside his mind when one matter overpowered everything else. He braced himself as he was pulled into the mirror. While he fell, he could hear the vague voice of his stepmother.


End file.
